Dulquer Salmaan: The word pan-India really irks me, don't think anyone says pan-America

Dulquer Salmaan also said the movies that have travelled across India are the ones that were essentially made for one market.

Dulquer Salmaan is perplexed by the widespread use of the phrase "pan-India" for films, claiming that it is impossible to create a picture that succeeds on a national level while also resonating with a wider audience organically. The two-part action-adventure series Baahubali directed by SS Rajamouli and released between 2015 and 2017, is widely credited with bridging the gap between the North and South film industries.

Since then, the word "pan-India" has gained momentum after movies by South Indian stars like Vijay's Master and Allu Arjun's Pushpa set new box office records in Hindi regions.

Salmaan told PTI that the word "pan-India" really irks him. He just doesn't like hearing it. The actor loves that there is so much exchange of talent happening in cinema. It's great, but we are one country. He doesn't think anyone says "pan-America." He doesn't get it, even though they say it sweetly.

The 35-year-old actor, the star of films like O Kadhal Kanmani, Bangalore Days, Hey Sinamika and Kurup, said the movies that have travelled across India are the ones that were essentially made for one market. If one designs their project to cater to all, the actor believes the film "won't belong anywhere".

The Ustaad Hotel actor shared that one can't engineer a pan-India film. Those films that have travelled across India are the ones that were rooted in one market. If one tries to make a "pan-India" film, trying to appeal to all audiences in different markets, it will not belong anywhere.

Thus, one makes their film as rooted as it can be, tells the story of that land and makes it bigger, casts it differently, and maybe puts in a few familiar faces from different markets. The actor gets all of that, but he doesn't think one should lose the sensibilities or the culture of that particular story.

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